


The Blaze to Understanding

by petalsandguitars



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Movie, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 19:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13666152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalsandguitars/pseuds/petalsandguitars
Summary: Even after forgiveness has been granted to Héctor by his beloved wife, turbulent feelings still haunt Imelda and it all comes crashing down on the both of them on one eventful night.





	The Blaze to Understanding

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my Tumblr post for this here: https://fedecolombo.tumblr.com/post/172669922477/.
> 
> Trade to the prompt of either Héctor and Miguel or Héctor and Imelda fighting and then making up.

Héctor Rivera couldn’t have felt happier those days.

He and his beloved wife had made amends, they were talking normally again, they were holding hands, sleeping in the same bed… if he didn’t know to be dead and that this land was the destination, he’d have thought he had died and gone to heaven.

That evening, after bidding the rest of the family goodnight, Héctor and Imelda headed to their bedroom in the great house connected to the equally big Rivera workshop.

Héctor closed the door behind themselves and took off his hat, laying it aside.

He looked at Imelda, who was in front of a mirror and undoing her hair and he smiled.

She saw his reflection in the mirror and rolled her eyes, turning to face him with a smile, ‘What?’

‘Nothing,’ he said quickly, ‘you’re beautiful.’

‘I’m a skeleton, Héctor,’ she said with a raised brow.

‘You’re still my beautiful Imelda, skeleton or not,’ Héctor said.

‘More like, skeleton or yes,’ smirked Imelda.

Héctor chuckled and as she went back to unbraiding her hair, he took off his purple gilet and his shoes, placing those carefully aside, they were the most precious gift he had ever received in his life, what with the meaning they had come with.

He suddenly felt incredibly tired, he had spent all day trying to help around in the workshop so he let himself collapse on the soft bed with a pleased sigh.

Imelda looked at him, ‘Not even changing in your night clothes?’

‘I’m fine,’ he said with a smile.

Imelda instead changed into her nightgown, pretending not to know that Héctor was staring at her adoringly, _skeleton or not_ , she thought and had to smile.

She climbed in bed next to him and he turned on his side so they were facing each other.

She closed her eyes and simply kissed him, to which he could feel the heart he no longer had flutter.

He kissed her back and one kiss turned into many.

When they finally pulled back, Héctor had lidded eyes and was smiling a quite stupid smile that made her roll her eyes once again.

‘What now?’ she said.

‘Nothing,’ he replied again, ‘it’s just been so long…’

That seemed to stir something inside Imelda, she went rigid and looked away.

Héctor looked instantly worried, ‘What is it? Did I – ‘

‘Say something wrong? Maybe,’ Imelda said, still not looking at him.

‘Imelda?’ Héctor said tentatively.

She sat up on the bed and bit on her skeletal lip, ‘It wouldn’t have been “so long” if only – if only you – ‘

Héctor sat up as well, ‘I know, I’m sorry…’

‘Sorry doesn’t do much to help now though, does it?’ she said, looking him straight in the eye.

Héctor felt all the pressure of her gaze and hardened a bit himself, ‘What am I supposed to do now then? I apologized, I – I’m here! And I tried to come back! I was murdered, Imelda…’ he said, softening again with the painful memory.

‘Well maybe it served you right,’ Imelda said and almost couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth as much as Héctor couldn’t believe that he might have had heard her right.

‘Excuse me?’ he said, with clenched teeth.

‘You heard me!’ snapped Imelda, now knowing those words would have had to come out sooner or later, ‘Maybe it served you right for leaving your wife and daughter for a taste of fame and freedom.’

Héctor’s jaw was now set, his eyes on fire like he had never had them in life in front of Imelda, ‘Well, maybe…’ he started, ‘it served _you_ right not having a husband coming home for you.’

‘What?!’ Imelda snapped, mouth open in disbelief and hard eyes.

Héctor gave her an unpleasant smirk, ‘You never believed in me coming back, did you?’ he growled in a dangerously low voice then if he could have shed tears, they would have probably been filling his eyes, ‘Have you ever, just once… tried to look for me?’

‘O – of course I did!’ said Imelda, ashamed and affronted.

‘How many times?’ Héctor chuckled mirthlessly, ‘Once?’

‘I couldn’t reach you, nor de la Cruz!’ Imelda said, ‘What was I supposed to do?!’

‘Maybe you should have thought better of your loving husband!’ Héctor shouted, jumping off the bed and Imelda mirrored him before he could continue, ‘Maybe you should have known something must have gone wrong for me not to come home to you! And if not to you, because let me guess, you thought I had run off with some other girl, didn’t you?’ Héctor went on mercilessly, ‘Did you honestly think, I wouldn’t come home to my daughter?’

‘Our daughter!’ Imelda shouted back, ‘Actually, you know what, she’s barely even _your_ daughter, you were there for _so little_ , I had to raise her on my own!’

Héctor’s ribcage was heaving hard, his jaw was clenched so tight that he thought it might snap broken at any moment.

‘Don’t you dare,’ he said in a low voice before he shouted, ‘don’t you dare say Coco is not my daughter!’

And right then a broken sob escaped Héctor’s lips, he cursed and resumed shouting, ‘Ninety-six years! Ninety-six years I’ve tried to cross that damn bridge, just to catch a glimpse of her! Do you know how many times I got arrested? How many Días de Muertos I’ve spent in a cell? How much ridicule I brought on myself with all my attempts? I was seen as a criminal at worst or as a clown at best!’ he had his eyes still locked on Imelda’s but suddenly his voice softened, ‘Have you ever thought about any of that?’

Héctor gave her a long, questioning look before he hid his face in his hand and clenched the other in a tight fist, he couldn’t hold it back behind smiles anymore and he started sobbing without being able to shed tears.

Imelda though was not done but her voice was softer too, ‘Have you ever thought what I had to endure being a mother without a husband?’

Héctor sniffed and held his voice fast as long as it took him to say, ‘I’m sure that must have been a nightmare,’ his voice was almost trembling again and trying to be heavy with sarcasm but he didn’t feel it in himself, in fact it all came off extremely weak, ‘Don’t you get it?’ he said then in between sobs, ‘I just wanted to come home…’ Héctor said and looked at her once again before he shook his head and let himself fall on the floor, hiding his face against his knees and wrapping his arms around himself.

He cried loudly, not caring if everyone in the family could hear him, he had kept that inside of him for almost a century, and that night he found out that he couldn’t anymore.

Imelda closed her eyes, seeing him like that, hearing him crying so desperately at his sad fate and now at her hands too, she wouldn’t have that if she could help it.

She approached him and sat next to him, ‘Héctor…’ she said and slowly and carefully placed her hands on his shoulders.

She was afraid he might shake her off but he didn’t, he kept shaking and sobbing and she felt a pang of pain and guilt right where her heart once had been.

‘I’m sorry, Héctor…’ she said truthfully, ‘I shouldn’t have said _any_ of those things to you.’

‘I’m sorry…’ Héctor’s broken words were barely audible.

‘Why, my love?’ Imelda asked gently.

‘I should never have left, none of this would have happened, it’s – it’s all my fault…’ he said and clung to himself tighter.

She moved a hand up and started stroking his hair, ‘Héctor, look at me…’

He obeyed before he could decide if he wanted to or not, if he had the strenght to or not.

‘I love you, I’ve always loved you and I always will,’ Imelda said, ‘we’re together now, we’re with our family, nothing else matters now.’

Héctor had to try his hardest to hold back a sob and she smiled kindly to him, ‘Come,’ she said and she took his hands in hers, helped him up and guided him to the bed.

She laid on it first, against the pillows and opened her arms for him.

He didn’t need another hint, he wrapped his arms around her middle and hid his face between her shoulder and neck.

She wrapped her arms around him in turn and again started stroking his hair lovingly.

They stayed there for a long time before Héctor’s sobs and shaking subsided.

He took a deep breath then and he kissed Imelda’s collarbone, ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve said…’

Imelda smiled down at him even though he couldn’t see her and caressed his cheekbone, ‘I started it, I kind of deserved you snapping back.’

‘No, you didn’t deserve me saying any of that!’ Héctor said, looking up at her.

His eyes went wide seeing that she was smiling softly at him.

‘Well in that case, I forgive you,’ said Imelda.

Héctor started breathing hard in an instant, ‘For – for everything?’

‘Yes, my love, for everyting,’ Imelda said gently and Héctor’s whole body relaxed, he closed his eyes and let a deep breath out.

His eyes snapped back open when Imelda spoke again, ‘Do you forgive _me_?’

‘Forgive _you_?’ said Héctor, shaking his head like it was a ridiculous notion to even suppose that she had to be forgiven.

‘Yes, Héctor, for all the years I’ve done you wrong, in life and in death, for what I said tonight…’ Imelda said, ashamed but resolute to let him know that she considered herself as guilty as she had considered him.

‘I forgive you,’ Héctor said without hesitation.

‘For everything?’ Imelda asked, just like he had moments previously.

‘For everything, my love,’ Héctor said and he embraced his wife, gently but firmly, ‘I love you, mi vida.’

Imelda embraced him back tightly, ‘I love you too,’ she said then paused for a moment before adding, ‘mi músico.’

Héctor pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, he knew what that meant from her.

It meant her acceptance of who he was, it meant true forgiveness, it meant music was not a curse anymore.

‘Thank you, Imelda,’ said Héctor.

‘Thank _you_ , Héctor,’ she said back.

‘For what?’ he asked, puzzled.

‘For being my loving and faithful husband,’ Imelda said simply.

Héctor raised a brow, ‘How do you know I was faithful?’

He regretted immediately his words but to his surprise, Imelda smirked, ‘Haven’t you been?’

‘Of course! Of – of course I’ve been faithful to you! Always! Every second of my life and death!’ Héctor said, quite desperately.

‘I believe you, my love,’ Imelda said, caressing his cheekbone, ‘don’t fret.’

Héctor smiled gratefully to her before he looked down, a question was burning him from inside now.

Imelda smiled gently, ‘You want to know if I’ve been faithful to you.’

It hit Héctor even harder for it was a statement and not a question.

‘Sí…’ Héctor said, feeling defeated, there was nothing he would have held against her if she hadn’t been but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t have hurt just the same.

‘I’ve always been faithful to you, Héctor, in life and in death,’ Imelda said gently.

Héctor’s eyes went wide, ‘You – never,’ his mind apparently couldn’t work out a proper sentence and he was stuttering, ‘not one time, have had any other man?’ he asked in disbelief.

‘Not once,’ Imelda said and had to smile at the big unvolountary smile that spread on Héctor’s face.

She scoffed, ‘You men… so possessive and jealous.’

Héctor rolled his eyes, ‘Of course I would be jealous,’ he said then looked at her with lidded eyes, ‘ _you_ are my wife.’

‘True,’ Imelda said playfully.

And from there onwards, it was a long night of soft kisses, of whispered confessions, of offered and received comfort, of pain and love, and finally… of complete understanding.


End file.
